To identify barriers to accessing Parkinson’s disease care in Zambia and explore potential, locally relevant solutions from the perspectives of patients, caregivers, and health care providers.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease worldwide.(1) In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the study and treatment of PD remain limited due to low disease awareness, reduced access to specialized care, and significant resource constraints.(2) Important gaps persist in our understanding of the impact of PD in SSA countries such as Zambia, where cultural norms, family structures, health care infrastructure, and socioeconomic systems differ substantially from those in middle- and high-income countries. Consequently, conclusions and recommendations derived from studies conducted outside SSA may not be fully applicable to health systems within the region. The societal implications of PD—including effects on independence, familial roles, and household income—remain poorly characterized, contributing to an incomplete understanding of overall disease morbidity among patients and caregivers in Zambia.

Three semi-structured focus groups were conducted between September and October 2023 with participants across four stakeholder categories: men with PD (5 participants), women with PD (4 participants), caregivers of people with PD (7 participants), and health care providers (19 participants: 8 nurses and clerks, 4 registrars, and 7 neurology consultants). Discussions were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed thematically to identify recurrent barriers and proposed solutions related to PD care.

Three principal themes emerged regarding barriers to accessing PD care: (1) limited education and awareness of Parkinson’s disease within the general population and among medical professionals; (2) limited availability and affordability of dopamine replacement therapies; and (3) inadequate access to trained providers capable of diagnosing and managing Parkinson’s disease.

Participants proposed several strategies to address these barriers, including targeted education for patients, caregivers, and frontline health care providers; subsidization and optimization of exiting pathways for access to PD medications; and expansion of training opportunities to increase local physician and allied health professionals’ capacity in Parkinson’s disease care.

There is a critical need for locally relevant, context-specific strategies to improve access to Parkinson’s disease care in Zambia. Addressing gaps in education, medication availability, and specialist capacity may reduce disease-related morbidity and improve quality of life for people living with Parkinson’s disease and their caregivers in resource-limited settings.